


Day One Hundred Ninety-Five || A New Spatula

by 365daysofsasuhina



Series: 365 Days of SasuHina 2019 [195]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-28 16:43:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19816333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/365daysofsasuhina/pseuds/365daysofsasuhina
Summary: With a mission assigned by his family to branch out and make a new friend as he adjusts to being back in Konoha...Sasuke chooses a target. First, gather intel...then strike!





	Day One Hundred Ninety-Five || A New Spatula

There’s a lot of things he has to get used to again. One of them is how to make friends.

Sasuke wasn’t exactly an expert at that, even as a child. He, like many clan children, was kept mostly within his clan’s compound when young, and there hadn’t been many others his age. Most of his time, therefore, was spent with his brother Itachi, and his cousin Shisui.

…ironic how now, they still make up most of his social circle.

The first time he truly met new children his age was his introduction into the shinobi Academy. Though a bright and friendly boy at that age, he was also shy to a degree: meeting new people was a bit daunting. But he did his best to be friendly...ish, but also focus on his studies, rushing home right after classes to then go train. That left little time for making friends.

And then, after only a brief stint in his scholarly career...the massacre took place. Any notion of making friends was lost in a sea of mourning and reclusion. There was no one in his class to turn to...no one knew how he was feeling. No one could understand, could comprehend…!

Even Naruto, in his proclamations of understanding loneliness, knew it to this degree. They were alone...but in vastly different ways. Naruto had no one to miss, no memories to haunt him, no recollection of his family’s death. It was something he would never fully know.

And so...Sasuke withdrew. Became obsessed with his studies, his training...all in an effort to one day kill one of the few people he’d ever fully entrusted his heart to: his brother. Sasuke missed so many milestones of socialization as a child, too bound and focused on his goals. Being assigned a team had been...awkward. Even more so given who they were: a boy that never gave him peace, and a girl who insisted she was in love with someone she’d hardly spoken to, could never understand.

So he did his best to ignore them. Complete what was necessary. Sure, they’d drag him around...and at times, his loneliness meant clinging to them, if only because he had no other option. They weren’t exactly his best-suited company. But in the end...he did his best to stay distant. He didn’t need them. They were distractions. Roadblocks. They’d only drag him down…!

And then he left.

Orochimaru’s was no place to make friends, let alone expect any semblance of normalcy. Taka were necessities. Pieces in his game. Karin was just as bad as Sakura, if not worse. Suigetsu was obnoxious...if not at times witty. Jūgo was tolerable. Quiet, unobtrusive...except for his blind fits of rage. But none of them were his friends. Nor did he want them to be. Need them to be.

The war saw him reunited with team seven. In a way...it was nostalgic. But there was little forgetting - or forgiving - their crimes against him. Ignoring his wishes. His clan’s genocide. The reasons behind it, even when they learned of it. Still they worshiped Konoha, still they thought it the only place he could ever call home. There was so much he wanted to throw away, burn, start over…

But in the end, he was denied.

And now here he is, back in that very village...but things are, admittedly, different. His brother is alive. His cousin never truly died. He has a niece and nephew now. And with his classmates’ help, and the Hyūgas’, they’ve rid the last few orchestrators - the previous council - of their power. Never again can they bring a tragedy like the massacre to fruition.

It’s not everything he wanted...but it’s a start.

He has a few key pieces of his family. 

In truth...that’s all he needs.

But that same family has been...gently urging him to try to branch back out. To meet his classmates and start again. Thankfully they all know and understand his apprehensions. None of them expect him to forgive and forget that easily...but nor will they let him simply give up.

The easiest place to start, as it turns out...is someone he haa little to no memory of ever speaking to before defecting.

And that is Hyūga Hinata.

But, in a way, that plays to her advantage. He has no grudge against her. She never did him wrong. And with her in the know of his past, along with her unique perspective...she’s also been the forefront of welcoming him back into their fold.

...it’s been, though he won’t admit it...rather nice.

With the Hyūga allied to their few remaining Uchiha cousins, they see each other plenty. Add in the fact that Sakura and Naruto have paired up, and...well, they’ve been a bit designated to follow them around. Sasuke as their teammate, and Hinata as a...friend.

So, with all of that in place, and making the most logical sense...he’s decided to start here.

“...got any hobbies?”

Perking up as he addresses her, Hinata glances to Sasuke. At the moment, they’re tagging along with Naruto and Sakura - as well as Sai and Ino - on a random little excursion through the village. The girls are yammering over clothes, and...the boys are waiting in apparent agony. Hinata, being frugal, has taken to just sort of...watching. Sasuke, with neither a need to shop nor an inclination to commiserate with Sai or Naruto...does the same.

So, they make small talk.

“Um...I do!” She offers a small smile, heartened to have him initiate a conversation. “I have a small garden in the Hyūga compound...and I pressed the flowers I grow in it. I have a w-whole collection.”

“Flowers, huh?” What a tame, typical, feminine thing. But it suits her, he thinks.

“Mhm! My mother loved them, and...I guess I inherited that.”

Ah, her mother...they haven’t really branched into that part of her past yet, so he carefully skirts it. “...anything else?”

“Well, I love to bake.”

“Oh?”

“Mhm! Cinnamon buns in particular,” Hinata admits, taking a moment to smile behind a hand. “There’s something very...relaxing about it. And I get a treat when it’s done!”

“...mm.” He’s never been big into sweets. But both Itachi and his wife are fans of them, so it’s rather common to see them around. “Good point.”

Okay...he has some ammunition. He can work with that.

A while back, when it was still cold, she’d knitted him a scarf. He’s been waiting for an opportunity to repay her for far too long now. And with a few of her interests in mind, he decides to go shopping.

...but he can’t do that alone. It would be weird. So, he drags his sister-in-law along.

“I don’t want anything too fancy,” he admits, perusing the current shop they’ve peeked into. “But not something too simple, either.”

Thinking that over, she admits the simple is often the best route. After all, you can never have too many of the basics in a hobby like cooking. Directing him to a rack of cooking tools, she lets him browse...and goes off to do her own.

Sasuke stares at all the little gadgets and doodads. In all honesty...he knows very little about cooking. He rarely does anything beyond the absolute basics himself. So, hand hovering, he contemplates them all before just...grabbing one.

A spatula.

Because it’s purple.

And purple reminds him of Hinata.

There...mission accomplished! Getting a little gift bag for it, he parts ways with his sister and instead goes to find Hinata. He’s not about wasting time!

She’s nearby, by some luck, browsing a window while her teammates argue nearby. Apparently she’s tuning them out.

“Hyūga.”

Glancing over, there’s a perk as she spots him. “Sasuke-kun!”

Without a word, he just...hands over the bag.

“...um…?”

“For you. For the scarf you made me.”

“...oh! You didn’t have to…?” Realizing there’s little point in arguing, she accepts, digging through the paper and finding a new spatula.

“...for your, uh...baking,” he offers awkwardly.

A blink, and then...she laughs? Cheeks go a merry pink. “This is perfect! Thank you!”

“You...like it that much?”

“You won’t b-believe this, but…” Another chuckle. “I just broke the handle of my favorite spatula a few days ago! But I’ve been too busy to replace it yet!”

...you’ve got to be kidding. “...well...glad it’ll be useful.”

She gives him a warm smile, cheeks still flushed. “...thank you very much, Sasuke-kun. It’s a very t-thoughtful gift.”

Something warms in his chest at the praise. “...you’re welcome.”

“Now I’ll have to make you something with it, ne?”

Aw, jeez...now he’ll owe her again! “...just nothing too sweet, all right?”

“Deal!”

**Author's Note:**

> Woo, more random ALAS fluff xD This prompt is...very random, but as Sasuke now knows, also very relevant to a certain new friend!
> 
> Not too much else to say, honestly...? Fluff is fluff! But I hope you enjoyed, and thanks for reading!


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